The Monkees - Next Generation (FIRST DRAFT)
by MonkeeVeggieGirl
Summary: It has been fifteen years since the Monkees broke up and went their separate ways, and in that time they have never seen or spoken to each other. So it must have been fate that brought their children together and made them the next generation.
1. Opener

**_No one knew for sure why the Monkees broke up. They had started as out-of-work musicians, but one day they were discovered and sent straight to the top. Teenage girls all across America rushed to the music stores to buy their albums, reporters circled their homes like starving vultures, trying to get a story on them, and the four young men were living in the lap of luxury._**

**_But after completing their second album, it was announced that the Monkees were disbanding._**

**_Millions sat at home, wondering what could have caused it. Stranger yet, the Monkees refused to be interviewed and they were never found together. It was as if the four of them had restraining orders on each other. Another mystery left unsolved. But before any of these questions could be solved, they all disappeared, running off to different parts of the United States._**

**_No one knows where they are now, or even if they are all still alive, but their loyal fans, even after all these years, are still listening to their albums, praying for the day that the Monkees will once again come together and create more music . . ._**


	2. Joey Dolenz

"Hey, guys. I'm home." Joey sluggishly stepped into his house while throwing his coat, hat, gloves and boots on the floor.

Unlike other eight-year-olds, Joey hated being outside in Winter. What was so great about it, anyway? Snowball fights only made you wet and cold, igloos made him feel nervous because he kept imagining the roof collapsing on top of him, and making snowmen was boring unless you did it with another person, which he couldn't do because his family was always either not around or too busy.

As Joey made his way toward the living room, ready to spend another day alone in his empty house, someone jumped out of the shadows and grabbed him. It scared him at first - though he would never admit it - but he soon realized who his attacker was and his fear turned into annoyance.

"Dad, why do you keep doing that?"

"Because I can." His father replied with a large grin on his face before he grabbed his son and kissed the head. "How was school today?"

"Why are you home?"

Joey's father put on a pained expression, as if his son had just stabbed him in the back with a gun right in front of his eyes. "You say that as if you don't want me here."

Joey simply shrugged. Saying something would only encourage him.

His father sensed this and wiped away his smile, but that glint of humor remained in his hazel eyes. "My agent said I could take a vacation."

"That's a first."

He smiled again. "It should be, since this is the first time I've worked with her."

Joey's eyes widened. "Her? You have a new agent?"

Joey's father looked as if he was about to announce that a thousand year war was finally over. "I fired my old agent and got a new one. Now I can finally spend more time at home."

Joey didn't know what to think. While he liked the idea of his father having some time off, he also thought about how weird it would be, suddenly having people around. He had gotten used to being alone while his father went from place to place, performing skits as a comedian, while his mother tried to find a new job - there weren't many openings for exotic dancers in their area - and his sister running away from home for weeks at a time. It had been this way for so long that Joey even had a mental schedule in his head that kept him from dying of boredom. But now things were suddenly different. He hated himself for it, but a part of him wished his father hadn't fired his old agent. Why couldn't things just stay the way they always were? What was wrong with everything being predictable? Maybe if his father had done this sooner . . .

"No more missed birthdays." His father continued, ignoring the look of uncertainty on his son's face. "Now I can be a dad instead of just a breadmaker."

"Great." Joey said with little to no enthusiasm.

His father rambled on and made jokes here and there, as if he was still on stage, until the two of them heard a muffled thump. At first Joey thought a bird had hit one of the windows, but then more thumps came, and it seemed to be coming from the front door. The two of them rushed toward the sound to find Joey's mother, her face pressed against the door's window, making her nearly perfect features look absolutely horrifying. As they watched, they realized that she was holding four large bags of groceries and she was kicked the door repeatedly, trying to get their attention.

"We're being invaded!" Joey's father shouted.

Joey rolled his eyes and let his mother in, who let out a deep breath and instantly put the bags down before straightening up. She was rather tall - even without her high heels - and even though her blond hair flew upward from static and her nose was red from being out in the cold weather, she still looked like she should be a movie star. But she would never go for it. Once Joey asked her why she wasn't one, and she told him that she was too shy. "But you're an exotic dancer." He had pointed out before she replied, "Because I don't know any of the people watching me. I get nervous when I'm around people I know, and you probably have to know the film crew in order to act well." She had also said that she wanted to stick with her job for sentimental reasons, because Joey's parents had met because of her job.

Most parents say they were classmates who dated off and on before finally tying the knot, or that they met on a beach and it was love at first sight. But Joey's parents were a bit more truthful about their first meeting. Joey's father had come into the club to enjoy himself when his mother came on. Apparently, his father was going through what he liked to call his 'party phase', which consisted of him drinking until he would wake up half naked in the middle of a desert and gambling like there was no tomorrow. So when he saw Joey's mother, it wasn't a case of 'love at first sight'. It was more like, "how much is that broad in the window?" But after drunkenly finding her backstage, she reacted like any normal, calm, and self respecting woman would. She screamed and punched him in the stomach before running away. For some reason, the punch to his gut only made him want her even more, and he proceeded to stalk her. Though he never called it that. "'Stalking' is a strong word." He would try singing to her, buying her gifts - when he did good in the casinos - and telling her all of the reasons why she should go out with him. Most girls would have called the police, but not her. She explained once that she felt sorry for him. To her, he looked like a sad puppy who had lost his way. So after only two or three days watching him try to woo her, Joey's mom went out with him. Later that night, he got the both of them drunk and they woke up with hangovers and a marriage certificate. They still don't remember exactly how it happened.

"You okay, honey?" Joey's father asked as he picked up one of the grocery bags.

"Yeah." She told him while trying to control her breathing. "I'm fine."

"You know, you shouldn't try bringing in all of the bags at once."

Joey's mom brushed her hair back to keep it out of her eyes. "But this way I don't have to keep making trips." She smiled at her son. Not the goofy one his father had, but a warm and innocent smile that lit up the room. "Did your father tell you the good news?"

"That he's got a new girlfriend?"

His parents froze and he was barely able to keep on a serious face. He didn't know why, but he loved messing with them and creating wild stories. Their reactions were hilarious.

Joey's father almost dropped the bag he was holding but was able to catch it at the last second. "I-wa-what? I never told you that."

"Is this true, Micky?" She asked, her voice becoming squeaky.

Joey put his hands behind his head. "Dad's new agent is a hot babe and they're meeting each other later tonight."

Micky looked confused, not knowing what to do next, until he saw the look on his wife's face and went toward her while trying to get a firm grip on the grocery bag. "I never told him that. I mean, yes my agent is a girl, and she is hot, but I never said-"

Without hesitation, she gave Micky her famous punch of the gut, which went through the bag, shattering the eggs inside, before running toward the door, tears in her eyes. "Have fun on your date!"

The two boys watched as she left the house and listened to the sound of the car turning on and driving off to who-knows-where. Micky, now covered with eggs, looked down at his nine-year-old son, who simply looked back at him as if nothing had happened.

"Why do you do this to me?" Micky asked.

Joey shrugged. "She'll forgive you." After holding it for as long as he could, he smiled and let out a small laugh. "Eventually."

Micky nodded and slowly walked away. Before Joey could ask where he was going, Micky came back with a mop and handed it to his son. Without a single word, Joey began cleaning up the mess as his


End file.
